1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device allowing a winding, made up of an elongated element, collected in a plurality of layers of a plurality of wraps, on a winding station, to be closed and said winding to be discharged from the winding station.
2. Description of Related Art
Numerous elongated elements, such as, for example, tubes, profile sections of any shape, insulated or other cables, are obtained through a process of continuous extrusion of a synthetic material or any other manufacturing process. In view of their great length, these elements are coiled on a fixed double-flanged bobbin disposed on a coiling machine or otherwise on a false bobbin made up of two side plates and a central body forming a drum, at least one side plate being able to be disunited in order to extract from the central body the winding made up of the wound elongated element of a plurality of layers of a plurality of wraps. Such a device for making windings is described in particular in EP 0 992 447 A1.
Generally, when the required length of the elongated element is attained, the said element is cut slightly upstream from the place where the winding is produced and an operator must grasp the cut end and hold it so that it winds itself correctly on the last layer before a ligature can be made, manually or by automatic means, in order to hold the collected coil. This operation requires the presence of an operator, and is not without danger. In the case where the cut end is left free for a certain time without being held, the coil has the tendency to come undone, at least on its upper layer, which makes it less compact and less rigid once the ligatures are made.
After the winding has been bound, it is necessary to discharge it from the winding station where it has been collected. Separate means are generally provided for this purpose.
A first object of the invention is to propose a device allowing the cut end of an elongated element to be held, after having been cut, in such a way as to preserve the winding, and particularly its last layer, well collected.
A second object of the invention is to propose that the above device makes it possible for the finishing of the coil to be carried out automatically, or respectively without danger for the operator.
A third object of the invention is to allow the above device to be conceived in such a way as to permit discharge of a collected winding.
These different objects are achieved through a closure and discharge device. Variants or other embodiments are described in the dependent claims.